NIC stop working with IDE CF Adapter plugged in

I really don't understand this one but whenever I have my CF IDE adapter plugged into my Asrock 880GMH-US3 motherboard, when I boot into Windows 7, although the NIC is still recognised and enabled, it has no connectivity and gets a 169.x.x.x address, as if the cable was unplugged.

Can anyone else understand why the IDE port being used should interfere with the NIC?